A Tasmanian coroner has found the deaths of two men who fell down a mine chute were “completely avoidable”.

An inquiry has been held into the deaths of 45-year-old Craig Gleeson and 25-year-old Alistair Lucas, who fell 22 metres down a mine shaft after a temporary platform they were working on collapsed on December 9, 2013.

The two men were working at the Copper Mines of Tasmania Queenstown mine at the time. At the same mine, in 2014, 53-year-old Michael Welsh was killed in a mud rush.

Coroner Simon Cooper handed down his findings into the deaths of the three men this week.

“The deaths of Mr Gleeson, Mr Lucas and Mr Welsh were tragic, and, in the cases of Mr Gleeson and Mr Lucas, completely avoidable,” Mr Cooper said.

“Apart from the terrible impact of their deaths upon their families, who lost much-loved husbands, partners, sons and fathers, it is quite apparent that their deaths, so close together, had a profound effect on the tight-knit community of Queenstown.

“Unlike many workers both on Tasmania's West Coast and throughout many areas of regional Australia, Mr Gleeson, Mr Lucas and Mr Welsh all lived locally in Queenstown. They were very much part of that proud and resilient community.

“Their deaths robbed the community of three important members. Many people lost a friend, team mate or co-worker. That sense of loss was palpable during the inquest, particularly during the hearing days in Queenstown.”

The court heard that on December 9, 2013, Mr Gleeson and Mr Lucas were changing flask linkages on a discharge door cylinder - considered a routine maintenance task.

“So that they could gain access to the linkage assembly, Mr Gleeson and Mr Lucas had to first construct a temporary work platform,” Mr Cooper said.

The platform was constructed from soft king billy pine and was “completely insecure”.

“I am quite satisfied it was wholly inadequate as a base for Mr Gleeson and Mr Lucas - or indeed anyone - to work over a 25-metre deep shaft,” Mr Cooper said.

‘Mr Gleeson and Mr Lucas died because a heavy piece of the machinery upon which they were working, the linkage and arm attached to a steel plate, weighing approximately 62 kilograms, fell approximately 0.538 metres onto the soft wood platform - which was, of course, unsecured.”

The platform gave way and Mr Gleeson and Mr Lucas fell over 20 metres down the shaft.

“Neither was anchored by a lanyard attached to a safety harness. The fall from the platform was the direct cause of their deaths,” Mr Coooper said. 

“Mr Gleeson's and Mr Lucas's deaths illustrate the critical importance of the development and adherence to appropriate safe operating systems, procedures and protocols. This is especially pronounced in an industry such as mining where there are no second chances.”

In regard to the 2014 death of Mr Welsh, Mr Cooper said Mr Welsh's was engaged in “the removal of broken rock, which contains ore, from a draw point using the loader”..

“About 7:45am, Mr Welsh and his loader were completely engulfed by a mud rush event … The force of the mud rush was such that the loader - remembering it weighed between 60 and 80 tonnes - was pushed back a considerable distance.

“Mud, rocks and the like were up to the level of the axles and completely covered the front end of the machine. The operator cab windows were destroyed and the cab itself full of mud and rocks.”

Mr Cooper did not question the emergency response to the mud rush.

“Nothing more could have been done for Mr Welsh after the incident occurred,” he said. 

“I am satisfied that there was practical and effective adherence to the controls imposed by [mine management plans] in the days and hours leading to Mr Welsh's death.”

The mine's owners put it into “care and maintenance mode” after the deaths. Copper Mines of Tasmania is currently attempting to sell the Mount Lyell mine.